Sisters by the Force Part 1 - Mystery at Dathomir
by Master Windu
Summary: A mysterious tale featuring a character so evil, I am now afraid of myself.


Disclaimer: This story is based up on material   
created by George Lucas and owned by LucasFilm, Ltd.  
It contains references to places, space craft, and   
belief systems from the Star Wars saga. It contains   
characters created by Lucas and other Star Wars   
writers. The events depicted herein were created by  
this writer as were certain original characters.   
These events and characters are owned by this writer   
as is this story. It may be freely redistributed or   
reporduced as long as no alterations are made. The   
characters created by the writer of this story may be   
used only with permission.  
  
  
Sisters by the Force  
  
The mysterious two part adventure of Tionne, Callista,   
Cilghal, and Tarissa, an interesting new character.   
In search for Callista's powers, these 'sisters' will   
explore Dathomir, the very existence of the Force   
itself, and temptations of the Dark Side. Inspired by   
new information about the Force in The Phantom Menace.  
  
  
Title: Sisters By the Force  
Chronology: 11 yrs after ROTJ; 3 after Children of the   
Jedi, Darksaber, and Planet of Twilight.  
Spoilers: Children of the Jedi, Darksaber, The Phantom   
Menace (info but not events)  
Author: Mike Milburn masterwindu@starwarsemail.com  
Part 1 - Mystery at Dathomir  
  
"Hard to see, the Dark Side is."  
-Yoda  
  
The holoprojector activated, revealing the pale   
blue image of a woman that Tionne knew all too well.   
Anxiety seemed to envelope Callista, the woman in the   
recording, as she tried to gain holographic composure.  
  
"Greetings, Tionne. I know it's hard for you to   
look at me, to... hear me in Cray's body, but I - I   
have to talk to you."  
  
Tionne turned her face to Yavin 4's warm winds   
and life's chilly memories. Cray Mingla had been a   
friend, an apprentice at the Jedi praxeum, before she   
gave up her body for Callista's soul on the _Eye of   
Palpatine_. Now Callista used Cray's hands, Cray's   
_voice_...  
  
"You know... umm... what I'm going through right   
now..." Callista's speech was jagged and heavy with   
pauses. "I just - I just need some help. I'm getting   
nowhere by myself. Unless I make a change... nothing   
is going to happen."  
She spoke her words as a plea, and Tionne knew   
they were exactly that. When Callista's soul had   
fused with Cray's body, she had become completely   
isolated from the Force. She could not reach out with  
her feelings, and no one could reach into her. Her   
body was a blindspot, an absence of connection to the   
Force. Tionne tried to grasp what that would be like   
for herself, much less Callista, a former Jedi Knight.  
  
"I need someone to come with me- to aid me, give   
me guidance. I know you're thinking, 'Why not Luke?   
He's a Jedi Master and the man you're in love with!'   
but -" Callista stopped and clearly searched her heart   
as best she could without the Force. "He's not a good   
idea _because_ I'm in love with him. When he's   
around, it's just too tempting to use the Dark Side to   
regain my powers."  
Tionne certainly understood that. Love always   
complicated things, especially in Callista's case.   
Before she was robbed of the Force, Callista and   
Master Skywalker had fallen in love on the _Eye of   
Palpatine_ while she was mysteriously trapped inside   
the ship's computer. It wasn't the usual shallow love   
that seemed to be plaguing the galaxy these days; it   
was deeper, more intimate. Master Skywalker and   
Callista had explored each other's souls as one in the   
Force and had fallen into deeper caring than anyone   
Tionne had ever known.  
Callista's message continued with a conclusive   
yet unsure tone, "I'm asking you to come with me and   
help me with all your knowledge. You're the most   
important Jedi historian in the New Republic; if   
there's something I can know, you already do. It's   
time to finally solve this problem and move on with   
what's left of my life. I need your help." Callista   
paused, just staring, before leaving Tionne with blunt   
words - "Whatever you do, don't tell Luke about this.   
It would just... complicate things - everything.   
Ummm... if this is a bad idea... umm... just say so."  
  
_It's not_, Tionne thought to herself. She may   
not have possessed the power of a Padawan, but Tionne   
truly had a Jedi heart.  
  
  
******************************************************  
  
  
The _Blind Specter_ screamed through hyperspace   
toward the gas giant of Yavin and the Jedi academy on   
its fourth moon. The transport's lone pilot,   
Callista, rested as she tried to organize a mass of  
huddled thoughts. She wasn't sure about all this.   
She wasn't sure about trusting Tionne.   
  
Tionne and Luke worked closely at the academy.   
It would be hard for her to keep something so   
important from him. Not to mention, as a Jedi Master,   
Luke was sure to pry.  
  
_He always pries_, Callista thought to herself,   
but she knew that was one of the things she loved   
about him. That and his irrepressible spirit of   
adventure that was so uncelebrated among the Jedi.  
  
Luke...  
  
How her heart burned to be with him, but she   
reminded herself this burning could be made to fuel   
the Dark Side. She despised the thought that for her,   
even love led down the dark path.  
  
Maybe that was an oxymoron, though. How could   
love lead to the Dark Side? Maybe being with Luke   
_wouldn't_ be such a problem... Maybe they could solve   
this together...  
  
_No_, she told herself, reinforcing her most   
important policy. She just couldn't be with Luke   
right now. She remembered how the nightbats had   
attacked them on Dagobah and how angry she had become.   
She had focused her rage and _pushed_ the creatures   
away, freely utilizing the Force. She loved Luke so   
much that she may do anything, even turn to the Dark   
Side, to truly be with him. She simply could not risk   
that.  
  
"Approaching the planet Yavin," alerted the   
monotonous, synthesized voice of the _Specter_'s   
computer as the ship rushed out of hyperspace. "Begin   
the landing cycle?"  
  
"No," Callista ordered. Tionne had agreed to   
rendezvous in Yavin's surrounding space. Callista had   
no intention of landing on a planet where her love   
could be found.  
  
So she waited.. and thought... and waited some   
more...  
  
"Permission to come aboard, Callista," Tionne's   
voice rang over the ship's comlink. Callista was   
relieved to finally welcome her new guide.  
  
  
******************************************************  
  
  
"And this is everything you've done?" Tionne   
asked as she and Callista held a spontaneous planning   
session.  
  
Callista replied, "That's it," as though she was   
awaiting judgment.  
  
"Well we know what _isn't_ working," Tionne   
realized as she concentrated through her mind's vast   
resources of Jedi knowledge. "Jedi training is   
certainly not the answer."  
  
Callista clearly agreed. "Right, I've already   
been completely trained to the status of Jedi Knight.   
I know how to _do_ everything; I just... _can't_."  
  
Ideas started making their way to Tionne.   
"Maybe another type of training could help, though."  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Callista. She looked   
a bit shocked. "Not Sith training I hope."  
  
Tionne let go a comforting chortle. "No, of   
course not. I was thinking of something even more   
different from Jedi."  
  
"Like what?" Callista inquired.  
  
"Well, there are several alternative ways of the   
Force," Tionne explained. "We Jedi aren't the only   
ones who know how to use it." She continued to scan   
her mental libraries. "There's the Fallanassi... the   
witches of Dathomir..."  
  
"What?"  
  
Tionne repeated, "The witches of Dathomir. They   
descended from Allya, a fallen Jedi who was exiled   
there. They utilize words, spells to tap into the   
Force."  
  
"How unusual," Callista observed. "Aren't they   
evil?"  
  
"Not most of them," Tionne answered. "Only the   
Nightsister clan."  
  
"I see," Callista said as she realized where   
Tionne was headed with this. "Maybe my connection to   
the Force isn't cut off in that way."  
  
"Exactly, Callista," Tionne agreed. "Now, let's   
set a new course."  
  
  
******************************************************  
  
  
The _Blind Specter_'s black hull clashed with   
the pale desert terrain of Dathomir as Callista   
landed, not far from a Force witch clan stronghold.   
Tionne looked about and located it a good distance   
west. Callista and she boarded their speeder and set   
out for the fortress.  
  
"Will it take us long to get there?" Callista   
wondered as Cray's long blonde hair flowed in the   
wind.  
  
Tionne smiled. "Not with _your_ driving," she   
teased.  
  
The witch fortress grew bigger and bigger as   
Callista increased her speed.  
  
_Screeeeeeeeeech_! A mind numbing noise   
suddenly pierced their fragile human hearing.   
Callista released the steering controls to cover her   
ears, and the speeder went on a wild, spinning   
rampage. Tionne activated the brake, and the   
transport spewed both of them to the dusty, desert   
ground at the sudden stop.  
  
"What's going on?" Callista screamed, hands   
still over her ears.  
  
As if in reply, fifty or so rancors galloped in,   
carrying an equal number of women in strange clothes   
and eerie decor. The woman in the very front had a   
taller, greenish rancor and wielded a weird bone with   
a painted yellow eye. Tionne knew at once this was   
the leader. The woman uttered a few words, inaudible   
over the maddening screeching noise, and it   
immediately ceased.  
  
"The witches of Dathomir," Tionne whispered,   
stealing the opportunity of silence.  
  
"We come in peace," Callista explained.  
  
"Quiet, wretch!" one of the witches hissed.   
"You're coming has already been foretold by the sister   
Omi Ka!"  
  
Callista was intrigued. "Then you know why   
we've come?"  
  
"We know all about your coming, Nightsister   
spies!" The leader shouted, "You will not infiltrate   
us so easily!"  
  
Callista opened her mouth, but Tionne motioned   
for her to hold back. "What is your name?" Tionne   
asked the leader.  
  
The leader was calm yet vindictive. "You know   
very well that I am Nashirala."  
  
"We know no such thing!" Callista bursted.  
  
Nashirala shouted a spell, and the eye on her   
bone unleashed golden lightening upon Callista.   
Tionne's friend shrieked with pain.  
  
Tionne quickly focused and redirected the   
lightening away from Callista and on to lifeless   
desert ground. "She's telling the truth, Nashirala."  
  
A younger witch observed, "Look, she uses   
speechless spells," in neither a positive nor negative   
tone.  
  
"More likely she whispers!" hissed a haggish old   
woman.  
  
"Can you prove that you have the power of   
speechless spells?" Nashirala inquired with doubt.  
  
"Yes," Tionne replied, radiant with confidence.   
"Observe my lips. I speak no hex, for I am no witch   
and certainly not a Nightsister." Tionne concentrated   
and _pushed_ some nearby grains of sand into a mid-air   
dance.  
  
At this, the witches realized these weren't the   
Nightsister spies whose coming had been foretold, but   
Nashirala did not sound any more trusting. "Why are   
you here?" she asked.  
  
Callista explained her plight to the witches of   
Dathomir. Most of them were confused but sympathetic.   
She added, "We think your way of the Force could help   
me... maybe."  
  
Nashirala was moved as well, though with less   
emotion. "Come to our fortress," she invited. "We   
will try to aid you there."  
  
Immediately, a nearby tundra plant erupted into   
purple fire. The hag-witch screamed, "The spies are   
already among us! They have signaled an attack!"  
  
Chaos enveloped the clan as a thundering herd of   
Rancors appeared at the horizon. Nashirala beckoned   
to Tionne, "Leave this place immediately if you value   
your lives!" She motioned to the young witch who had   
first recognized Tionne's unspoken Force powers.   
"Tarissa, accompany them to their ship."  
  
Tarissa was happy to do so. "Yes, mistress."   
She paused in thought. "May I accompany them further,   
into space I mean?"  
  
Nashirala paused as well, trying to think among   
the confusion of the pending battle. "Yes," she   
decided. "Maybe you can help them."  
  
  
******************************************************  
  
  
Nashirala watched as the Jedis' starship   
disappeared into hyperspace. Immediately, the purple   
flame was extinguished, and the approaching   
Nightsister army retreated.  
  
Mona Te looked at her leader with wide eyes.   
"What does it mean?"  
  
Nashirala wasn't sure. All she knew was that   
she had to find those Nightsister spies... those   
damned Nightsister spies.  
  
  
******************************************************  
  
  
The Nightsister spy Tarissa concealed an inner   
smile aboard the Jedis' ship as it entered hyperspace.   
Now she could change her focus to revenge upon the   
Jedi. They would pay for what they had done.  
  
Years ago, before Tarissa went into espionage,   
she enjoyed her life as a normal Nightsister with her   
love slave, Ammahak, until a terrible army of sisters   
from the Singing Mountain clan had attacked the   
Nightsisters. One of the witches named Kirana Ti,   
armed with powerful speechless spells the Jedi had   
taught her, managed to free dear Ammahak, ending   
Tarissa's happiness forever. The Nightsister had   
vowed that the Jedi people would pay for Kirana Ti's   
audacity.  
  
Now these two Jedi would satisfy that debt.   
Tarissa smiled, this time even physically. The one   
known as Callista was already suffering. The revoking   
of her powers had left her separated from her love, a   
perfect parallel to Tarissa's wound. Callista would   
be so gratifying to torture, already in a troubled   
state.  
  
And then there was Tionne, the historian.   
"Amala tokreiyu," Tarissa whispered in sweet hatred.   
The probing spell took its effect. Tionne was weak in   
the Force. She would pose no threat. In fact, maybe   
this weakness could be used in _her_ punishment...  
  
The pathetic Callista approached Tarissa with   
shyness. "Umm... about helping me," she began, "how   
effective do you think... umm... the spells will be?"  
  
Tarissa assumed a mask of innocent ignorance.   
"I don't know. I've never heard of this sort of   
thing," she explained with dishonest cordiality. "I   
guess no one has."  
  
Callista looked slightly disappointed but   
surprisingly strong for a _Jedi_. That could be   
changed with time and effort...  
  
"Maybe you should go into Callista's quarters   
and get started," Tionne suggested.  
  
_Maybe you should cower in pain before my dark   
might for even presuming to tell me what to do_ was   
Tarissa's initial thought, but she realized Tionne's   
idea was perfect for the first phase of revenge. "Of   
course, Tionne."  
  
Callista led the Nightsister to her meek room.   
The place was clean and traditional for spacecraft,   
void of decoration. _How plain_, Tarissa observed.  
Callista sat and awaited further instructions.  
  
Tarissa gave them: "Alright... I'm going to   
teach you some spells and you repeat them and... we'll  
see what happens." Tarissa raised her staff upright.   
It was magnificent: a sturdy wooden rod that blended   
perfectly into a lizard's tail at the end. There were   
no signs of separation; it was positively organic. At   
the widest part of the lizard's tail, an imperfect   
corusca gem was embedded. Tarissa had infused her   
staff with Force powers using a spell she learned from   
pathetic Nashirala herself.  
  
She unleashed a neutrally dark spell. "Ashim   
rashek toleva," she spoke with purposeful   
intimidation. Callista's humble quarters erupted in   
wind.  
  
Callista looked amazed, as though she had never   
seen a spell before. "Okay," she said and prepared   
herself to try the hex. "Ashim rashek toleva."  
  
Nothing happened. Tarissa smiled. "Try again,   
Callista," she suggested. This was going to be good.  
  
Callista delayed, apparently trying to utilize   
Jedi techniques as well. "Ashim rashek toleva."  
  
This time Callista's spell was accompanied by   
Tarissa's dark whisper. Tarissa's wind filled the   
room, but powerless Callista thought it belonged to   
her.  
  
Pitiful tears of bliss filled her wretched Jedi   
eyes. She was speechless at the final retrieval of   
her lost connection to the Force. How delicious it   
would be when this elation would serve as Callista's   
sorrow.  
  
"Ashim rashek toleva," she repeated. The wind   
followed Tarissa's matching whisper. "Ashim rashek   
toleva," Callista said it again. The wind came.   
"Ashim rashek toleva. Ashim rashek toleva." The wind   
sped up with Tarissa's accompanying words, dancing   
before Callista's eyes. The Jedi cast again, "Ashim   
rashek toleva. Ashim rashek toleva! _Ashim rashek   
toleva!_"  
  
The wind did not come, not even a consoling   
breeze, as Tarissa cut off her help. Callista's glee   
transformed into the desired terror. "What happened?"   
she shrieked.  
  
It was time for that playfully false innocence   
again. "I don't know! It's just - it's just stopped   
working! It - it must have been temporary."  
  
"No!" Callista yelled. "Ashim rashek toleva!"   
She screamed it, harder, fiercer. "Ashim rashek   
toleva! ASHIM RASHEK TOLEVA!" Callista tore out of   
the room, a chaos of tears and torture.  
  
_Revenge phase one... complete._  
  
  
******************************************************  
  
  
Tionne's door burst open, revealing Callista in   
a sudden rage of sorrow.  
  
"She tried, Tionne" Callista screamed in tears.   
"It was working, but then- then-" She couldn't say   
more; it was too painful. She just sobbed in Tionne's   
arms.  
  
"It's okay, Callista," Tionne tried to console.   
"Just let it all out." It pained Tionne to see   
Callista like this. It pained her almost enough   
too...  
  
"Callista, there's something I haven't told   
you."  
  
Callista looked up at her in confused sadness.   
"What? Why?"  
  
Tionne's reply was a look that signified more   
danger in the Force than the Dark Side would ever   
dare, at the very threshold of existence.  
  
  
Be sure to read [Part 1][1]. 

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/text/browse-readfile.cfm?storyid=1291148210



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